Puzzle



No. 6|4,77o. Patented Nm). 22, |898. Y R. M. SHEPHERD.

' PuzzLE. (Application led Sept. 17, 1898.) (No Model.)

wwwmain@ UNITED v STATES PATENT @Erica RUSSEL MAXWELL SHEPHERD, OFCARBONDALE, PENNSYLVANIA.

PUZZLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 614,770, dated November22, 1898.

Application filed September 17, 1898- Selal No. 691,231. (No model.)

To all whom it mja/y concern.-

Be it known that I, RUssEL MAXWELL SHEPHERD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Carbondale, in the county of Lackawanna and State ofPennsylvania., have invented certain new and useful Improvements inPuzzles, of which the following is a specication.

My invention relates to an improvement in puzzles, the object being toprovide a device of the character named which will be sufficientlypuzzling to one unfamiliar with it to arouse interest and affordamusement and which atv the same time can be easily and quickly solvedby one acquainted with its modus operandi.

A further object is to provide a puzzle which can be cheaply made andplaced upon the market at a small initial cost.

IVith the above objects in view my invention consists in a combinationof elements which must be manipulated in a certain predetermined way tomake the operation of the puzzle possible.

It further consists in certain novel features of construction andcombinations of parts, which will be hereinafter described,and pointedout in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a top view, Fig. 2 is a bottomview, and Fig. 3 is an edge view with portions broken away, and Fig. 4ta transverse section of the device inverted on line et 4 of Fig. 2.

The mechanical features are in general as follows, although subject tomuch variation:

A represents a flat strip of wood or other material, preferably oblong.This strip has a slot l cut therein. A block 2 is pivoted usually at itstransverse axis in this slot by means of pins 3 3, which constitute anaxis on which the block may turn. In one end of this block a removableand reversible section at is mortised 0r otherwise held. The inner wallof the slot l and the outer edge of the block and removable section areprovided with the half-round grooves 5 and G, respectively, which whenthe block is in its normal position in the slot coperate to form a pathfor balls 7 7, which number four in all, two onl each side of the axis,and operate to lock the block against turning on the axis by extendingpartly into the groove in the slot and partly in the groove in theblock, the space or crack between the slot and block being justsufficient to disclose the movement of the balls to the operator.

Pockets 8 S are formed on each side of and adj acentlto each axis,andthesejare sufficiently deep to receive the balls. These pockets are notvisible from the outside through the space between the slot and block;but it is the ob j ect of the game to work the four balls into theirrespective pockets, so that the block can be reversedor turned over andthe removable section can be taken out and reversed. These pocketsincline upward slightly toward their inner ends in the direction of theface of the device, so that when the face is upward, asin Fig. l1, it isimpossible to get the four balls into the four pockets and consequentlyto turn the block and remove and reverse the section; but to work thepuzzle it must be turned over bottom upward, and even then a certainamount of skill in the manipulation of the device is still necessary tosuccessfully pocket the balls and work the puzzle. W'hen the balls havethus been located, the blockis still held horizontally and the outsideis turned, and the balls are prevented from es-V cape by reason of thetrap formed by the slotgrooves setting crosswise of the pockets,whichlatter are immediately adjacent to the axis. The top face is purposelymade the more attractive, so that the operator will naturally turn itthat side up to work the puzzle and a major portion of the working ofthe puzzle is of course to discover thatit must be operated upside down.Once this is known the rest is simple enough and only requires a steadyhand.

I have illustrated the map of Cuba on the device and on the removablesection the United States and Spanish iiags. In the present instance theostensible object is to raise the American iiag in Cuba; but this isonly one of many designs or maps for that matter to be employed, as thepuzzle is still to turn the block or unlock it.

It is evident that slight changes might be made in the form andarrangement of the several parts described without departing from thespirit and scope of my invention, and hence I do not wish to limitmyself to the exact construction herein set forth; but,

IOO

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A puzzle consisting of two parts pivotally connected together side byside and provided with grooves on adjacent edges which constitutecomplements of each other when the parts are in their normal positions,said grooves provided with a pocket which extends toward the outersurface of one of the parts as it extends inward and a movable devicelocated in the grooves and adapted to be directed into the pocketwhereby to admit of the two parts of the device being turned withrespect to each other.

2. A puzzle consisting of two parts pivotally connected and provided onadjacent edges With grooves which constitute the complement of eachother, and a pocket formed at the end of the grooves adjacent to theaxis upon which the parts are pivotally connected together and a movabledevice operating in the grooves and adapted to be guided into thepocket, said pocket of greater depth at its inner end than at its outerend.

8. A puzzle consisting of an outer block having a slot extendingtransversely therethrough, a smaller block pivotally supported in theslot, the outer edge of the latter and the inner edge of the slot havinga groove which grooves constitute complements of each other, two ballson each side of the pivot operating in the grooves, and pockets formedadjacent to the pivots for the retirement of the balls whereby theturning of the blocks with respect to each other is made possible.

4. The combination with an outer block having a grooved slot extendingtransversely therein, an inner block having a grooved edge and pivotallysupported in the slot, the pivots stopping the continuity of the grooveformed between the slot and inner block, pockets adjacent to the axis towhich the grooves lead, said pockets being of greater depth as theyextend inward, and movable devices in the grooves adapted to enter thepockets whereby to admit of the blocks turning with respect to eachother and a reversible section removable when the blocks swing out oftheir normal positions, said section be ing held in place when the partsare in normal adjustment.

RUSSEL MAXWELL Slllllll'lllil).

In presence of- H. G. BAKER, F. J'. THoMAs.

